Governor says he'll pardon own son

• Kyle Beebe was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 2003


• He was fined and sentenced to three years supervised probation


• Gov. Mike Beebe said his son has grown up a lot in the past decade


• The governor has pardoned more than 700 offenders

(CNN) -- Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe plans to pardon his son for a felony drug charge from more than a decade ago.

"It will probably be in the next few weeks," said Matt DeCample, a spokesman for the Democratic governor.

"For any pardons the governor does, the person has to have finished all terms of their sentence ... and then had a period of time where they've shown they have straightened their lives out."

Kyle Beebe, who is now 34, was convicted in 2003 of possession of a controlled substance -- marijuana. He was fined and sentenced to three years supervised probation, according to CNN affiliate KATV.

Governor: He was embarrassed, he still is

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe plans to pardon his son, Kyle Beebe, who served three years of supervised probation after he was convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to sell in 2003. The governor said his son will become one of more than 700 offenders he has pardoned.

Anthony McCray is one of eight men convicted of killing their wives or girlfriends who were pardoned by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. They had served in the governor's mansion, where the most well-behaved of convicts in Mississippi get to work and are commonly pardoned by the governor.

For Ricky Walters, aka Slick Rick, a pardon from New York Gov. David Paterson in 2008 ended his fear of being deported back to his native Britain. The hip-hop star had served six years in prison on an attempted murder and weapons charge, but faced deportation because of a federal statute to deport resident aliens convicted of violent felonies or weapons charges.

Billionaire investor and commodities trader Marc Rich, who violated the embargo on Iran, was pardoned by President Bill Clinton. The controversial pardon even came despite the fact that Rich fled to Switzerland and was on the FBI's most wanted list. Clinton issued about 450 pardons and commutations during his presidency.

Rich's wasn't the only controversial pardon issued by Clinton. Clinton also pardoned a dozen members of the nationalist terrorist group FALN, several of whom were expected to serve out their terms until their death.

Clinton's controversial pardon streak continued with former Rep. Mel Reynolds of Illinois, who was convicted of corruption and statutory rape of a 16-year-old campaign volunteer.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe won't be the first executive to pardon an immediate family member. Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton, who was convicted of dealing cocaine, on his last day in office.

President Ronald Reagan's secretary of defense secured a presidential pardon from President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Caspar Weinberger had been indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges related to the Iran-Contra scandal. He was one of several officials involved in the affair whom Bush pardoned.

All Vietnam-era draft dodgers were unconditionally pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, indemnifying hundreds of thousands who evaded or attempted to evade the draft. The blanket pardon was one of Carter's top campaign promises.

Carter also used his presidential power to pardon famed musician and activist Peter Yarrow, who had been convicted of taking "indecent liberties" with a 14-year-old fan.

President Richard Nixon avoided being indicted in the Watergate scandal after his former vice president and successor, President Gerald Ford, pardoned him for crimes he "committed or may have committed." His pardon came about a month after he resigned from office in wake of the scandal.

Call it good karma. Before Nixon got his own pardon, he pardoned several others, including infamous union leader Jimmy Hoffa in 1971. Hoffa had been convicted of jury tampering and fraud. But the pardon didn't keep him out of trouble, as Hoffa vanished in 1974. His body was never found.

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

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Pardoned: 12 famous & controversial

The Arkansas Parole Board recommended the pardon last month. It came after Kyle Beebe wrote a lengthy letter in his pardon application.

"Mr. Governor, I am asking for a second chance at life. I am asking for a second chance to be the man that I know that I can be," Kyle Beebe said.

"At the time of my arrest I was living in a fantasy world, not reality. I was young and dumb. At that time in my life I felt like I was missing something and I tried to fill that emptiness by selling drugs."

The governor said his son has grown up a lot since those days.

"I would have done it a long time ago if he'd have asked, but he took his sweet time about asking," Mike Beebe said. "He was embarrassed. He's still embarrassed, and frankly, I was embarrassed and his mother was embarrassed.

"All of the families that go through that, it's tough on the families, but hopefully the kids learn," the governor said.

Mike Beebe told KATV that he's done more than 700 pardons, mostly for nonviolent offenders.

CNN's Teri Genova contributed to this report